Over the last 5 years, the Dallas Cowboys have figured out a way to strike gold drafting cornerbacks

Dallas drafted cornerback Trevon Diggs in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft. Diggs was an NFL All-Pro by 2021 and is a 2-time Pro Bowler. They drafted cornerback DaRon Bland in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL draft. Bland was an NFL All-Pro in 2023, when he led the NFL with 9 interceptions and tied the NFL single season record with 6 defensive touchdowns.

It’s starting to look like rookie cornerback and third round pick Shavon Revel might be next.

Revel has been one of the keys to the Cowboys leveling up on defense — they’ve won 3 consecutive games since he made his debut in the lineup in Week 11.

“He continues to amaze me, man,” Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer told The Dallas Morning News reporter Joseph Hoyt. “It’s so fun to watch him grow.”

Revel has been thrown directly into the fire in his first 3 games — including 1 start — as he’s been on the field for 64 percent of the defensive plays for the Cowboys.

“Cowboys rookie CB Shavon Revel Jr. has allowed just five receptions for 61 yards across 89 coverage snaps in the first three games of his NFL career,” The Fort Worth Star Telegram’s Nick Harris wrote on his official X account on December 2.

Injury Hurt Revel’s Draft Stock Out of ECU

The Cowboys snagged Revel, 6-foot-2 and 194 pounds, in the third round (No. 76 overall) of the 2025 NFL draft despite the fact he tore his ACL just 6 games into his final college season at East Carolina in 2024.

Revel was on most mock drafts as a first round pick before his injury, including in Dallas.

“The Cowboys considered Revel one of the best corner prospects in the 2025 NFL draft, if not the best,” Hoyt wrote. “If not for a torn ACL early in his final collegiate season, Revel would’ve likely been taken earlier than the third round, where the Cowboys eventually selected him. In Revel, the Cowboys saw a talented corner who could use his … height and nearly 80-inch wingspan to excel in press-man coverage.”

Revel Could Change Future Plans on Dallas Defense

If Revel truly does become a full time starter for the Cowboys — which he could prove to be by the end of the regular season — he represents an incredible value on a 4-year, $6.5 million contract.

Those are the type of savings the Cowboys are praying for at this point, with Diggs constantly injured and in the midst of a nightmarish, 5-year, $97 million contract extension he signed in 2023.

Diggs has missed 27 games over the last 3 seasons; 15 games in 2023, 6 games in 2024 and another 6 games so far in 2025. This year has been the most concerning because Diggs’ absence started with a concussion suffered in a mysterious accident at his home.

The Cowboys face the Detroit Lions on Thursday Night Football in Week 14.

“Cowboys CB Trevon Diggs had three words to me about the mysterious concussion: At home accident,” Cowboys reporter Clarence Hill Jr. wrote on his official X account on November 30. “He also said he’s healthy and ready to be himself again. Feels better than he did at start of season. Ready to play Thursday if the Cowboys let him.”